A generation ago groups of Vietnam families would pool their resources together to ensure there was plenty of cooking of the table during Tet Nguyen Dan (Lunar New Year).

Just 25 years ago Vietnam was in midst of what is now know as the “subsidesed period”. The country’s economy was floundering after decades of war. The government’s policy of reform (doi moi) was yet to be introduced and foreign investment was not even thought of. Food and closes were rationed commodities and every day was a fight for survival.

Nevertheless as Tet approached people would start to prepare a feast as best they could. As most people were cash strapped they would fool money together to buy a pig or a buffalo as well as sweets and cigarettes. The animal would then be slaughtered and distributed accordingly.

This custom of sharing food is know as ‘an dung’ in Vietnamese. My uncle, who used to work for a state-run company, says that before Tet in the early 80s he would shop around for food and other goods on behalf of the company.

“Every year the company provided one pig for each division,” he recalls. “Everything was divvied up – even the bones – and put in plastic bags. Then everyone drew lots to see which bag they got. Before everyone went home we would make a dish with the pig’s blood and have a party”.

In the countryside people were used to sharing the financial burden when making preparations for a feast as weddings and funerals would have regularly been organized in this fashion. In Vietnam each village existed as a separate political and social entity. Festivals, weddings and other ceremonies were a shared experience. With an innate sense of community spirit sharing came naturally to most villages in times of economic hardship. According to 80-year-old Pham Quang Quy from Bac Ninh province the custom of ‘an dung’ has probably been around since the early 19th century.

Someone would select a pig, which had to be “not to fat and nice and firm”. The most desirable pigs would be short ones that weighted about 30-40kg.

Some families would spent a whole year feeding pigs with a special diet of vegetables and bran just for Tet. These plump pigs would have large rumps and thin legs.

“It represents the community’s solidarity and affection and helps cement relations between people during Tet,” says Quy.

If a family owned a pig which had not been ordered they would look for a family with no pig and work out how to share the pig. They would give pork on credit until the post-Tet period.

Often pigs were slaughtered on the second last or last day of 12th lunar month of the year. The meat would be used to make banh chung and other Tet specialties. In quiet villages you’d know it was the Eve of Tet when you heard pigs squealing everywhere!

Nowadays of course this custom is not considered to be necessary for most well-to-do people in the city or countryside. But we can imagine how happy a whole village would have been to come together on the occasion of New Year, sharing food and drinking together while wishing each other a prosperous year.

(Source: Timeout)